Friday, November 28, 2014

It’s
week eight of my Class Showcase series, where I take a class from D&D and
give three examples from popular culture. This week: Paladins.

#1 Arthas Menethil (Warcraft 3 / World of Warcraft)

Arthas has the unique distinction of being both a paladin and what many would describe as an anti-paladin in his long and varied history within Warcraft lore. He began as a Prince of Lordaeron and a paladin in training under Uther the Lightbringer. However, during the events depicted in Warcraft 3, he became corrupted by the cursed runeblade “Frostmorne”, eventually killed his father, King of Lordaeron, and destroyed the kingdom. After this, he traveled to Northrend and eventually merged his body with the Lich King gaining control over the Scourge. He is one of my favorite examples of how a good character can go bad for all the right reasons.

#2 Joan of Arc / Jeanne d’Arc (Various)

Saint Joan has the proud distinction of being both a pop-culture figure and a historical one. While many of her deeds have been glorified by movies, television, and novels, the factual history of the Maid of Orléans is no less impressive. She quickly became the figurehead for the French forces during the later period of the Hundred Years’ War, she is credited for turning the tide at several battles which led to the coronation of Charles VII, and, despite the fact that she was illiterate, knew more about religion and the laws of god than many of the church officials who put her on trial and ultimately burned her at the stake. Not bad for a girl who never attained the age of twenty.

#3 Private
Jackson (Saving Private Ryan)

Religion
and war movies seem to go hand and hand. I look at The Patriot, Gladiator,
the recent film Fury, and of course Saving Private Ryan. In the latter, the
character of Private Jackson stands out to me as an excellent example of a
modern-day paladin. He believes that god guides his sniper rifle in a grand
effort to hinder those who would replace his Christian beliefs with fascist
ideals. The scene in the bell tower is particularly moving as Jackson recites
quotes from the bible as he shoots down several German soldiers. His faith
seems absolute and his conscious, despite the many corpses he leaves in his
wake, is clear.

Monday, November 24, 2014

Hey 5th Edition players and DMs, it's
time to test your knowledge! Challenge yourself by taking my Expert Level Monster
Manual Quiz and see just how much you know (or don't know). Write down your
answers as you go and add up your points at the end. Good luck!

1)
Which of the following monsters has the greatest amount of hit points on
average?

a) Chimera b) Hill
Giant

c) Hook Horror d) Troll

2)
Which of the following monsters has the highest armor class?

a) Goblin b) Harpy

c) Orc d)
Skeleton

3)
Which of the following Dragons is worth the most experience?

a) Ancient Black b)
Ancient Blue

c) Ancient Green d)
Ancient White

4)
Which of the following Elementals have the highest Constitution score?

a) Air b) Earth

c) Fire d)
Water

5)
Which of the following Giants is tallest?

a) Fire b) Stone

c) Frost d) Cloud

6) Which of the following Golems has the lowest
Strength?

a) Clay b) Flesh

c) Iron d) Stone

7)
Which of the following monsters can fly the fastest?

a) Griffon b) Adult Red Dragon

c) Pegasus d) Wyvern

8)
Which of the following has the highest Dexterity?

a) Sprite b) Faerie Dragon

c) Imp d)
Will-o'-Wisp

9)
Which Dragon's breath does the least amount of damage on average?

a) Ancient Blue b) Ancient
Green

c) Ancient Red d) Ancient
Gold

10)
Which of the following Lycanthropes has the best Perception bonus?

a) Werebear b) Wereboar

c) Wererat d) Werewolf

11)
Which of the following monsters has the highest Charisma?

a) Mind Flayer b) Unicorn

c) Lich
d) Medusa

12)
Which of the following is slowest on the land?

a) Nightmare b) Warhorse

c) Centaur d) The Tarrasque

13)
Which of the following has the highest stealth bonus?

a) Pixie b)
Vampire

c) Drow Elite Warrior d)
Invisible Stalker

14)
Which of the following monsters can bite for the most damage on average?

a) Dragon Turtle b)
Ancient Red Dragon

c) Purple Worm d) Giant Crocodile

15)
Which of the following have the least amount of hit points on average?

a) Pseudodragon b) Kobold

c) Goblin d)
Eagle

***

Alright now compare your answers to the
solutions below. Give yourself 1 point per right answer.

1) A 2)
A 3) B

4) B 5)
D 6) B

7) C 8)
D 9) D

10) A 11)
A 12) D

13) D 14)
A 15) D

And finally, compare your score:

1-3 points: You get the Bronze coin. You
have much more to learn.

4-6 points: You get the Silver coin.
Your knowledge is average.

7-9 points: You get the Gold coin. Your knowledge
is above average.

10-12 points: You get the Electrum coin.
Your knowledge is vast and impressive.

13-15 points: You get the Platinum coin.
Your knowledge is expert level. Congrats!

Friday, November 21, 2014

It’s week seven of my Class Showcase series, where I take
a class from D&D and give three examples from popular culture. This week:
Rangers.

#3 Strider/Aragorn
(The Lord of The Rings Trilogy)

An orphan raised by Elves, who became a Ranger, who became
a hero, who became a King, Aragorn is without a doubt one of the most famous
and pivotal characters in J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic fantasy series. Through his
leadership, tracking abilities, combat skills, and sheer determination, Aragorn
is one of the driving forces that leads to the ultimate downfall of the dark
lord Sauron. Looking at his Ranger skills in particular, Aragorn or Strider
manages to hide the hobbits from danger, provide them with food and guidance on
the journey to Rivendell, protect them from the wraiths, and even provide a
certain amount of healing to Frodo. His skill with animals, horses in
particular, is also quite evident. Aragorn was, is, and will be the template
for many Rangers in D&D.

#2 Katniss
Everdeen (The Hunger Games Trilogy)

Until a little novel by Suzanne Collins came around in
2008, the list of female rangers was quite thin. Since that time, I can name
several who fit the bill such as Merida from the Pixar movie Brave (2012). The
character of Katniss has inspired a whole new generation of young women and
writers who create stories for/about young women rediscovering their “hunter”
or “primal” side. In the stories, Katniss begins as a young woman forced to
break the laws of her world and hunt game in the wild to provide food and basic needs for
her family. Later, as she gets sucked into the Hunger Games and several other
political plots, her fighting skills and survival instinct allow her to become
not only a figurehead but also the spark that lights a powder keg of upheaval.

#1 Link (The Legend
of Zelda Series)

From his first appearance in 1986 to his latest romp in Super
Smash Bros. for Wii U, Link is one of the most recognizable characters in all
of video games. Now granted, some of his incarnations over the years vary
greatly and while I may not consider his character a Ranger in all of them, I
certainly consider him one in two of the most popular incarnations of the
franchise: A Link to The Past (1991) and Twilight Princess (2006). Here’s some
evidence for you: 1) He is equally skilled with both sword and bow; 2) His
armor is quite obviously light/medium and not heavy; 3) He has access to magic;
4) He can communicate with animals and other wild creatures; and 5) In both of
the two games listed above, he originates from a forest setting. In some ways,
I can also see the argument that Link may be a Bard (lots of musical
references) or perhaps an Arcane Fighter build. However, in my opinion, Ranger
fits best.

Monday, November 17, 2014

It shouldn’t be surprising that
many players are very interested in playing “monster characters” from time to
time. Rather it be in reverse dungeons, “evil” campaigns, or homebrew
adventures people occasionally want to dip their toe into something a little weird.
Just as Half-Orcs, Dragonborn, and Tieflings have all grown out of many
players’ desires to play Orcs, Dragons, and Devils, there are a few other races
in the 5th Edition Monster Manual that I think would make excellent
playable races. Some of them would just be for fun or as an experiment, but I
think others could easily become memorable PCs and be just as important as the
mainstream races. Here are my top ten candidates, in alphabetical order, and how
they could be possibly played:

1.Centaur

Using the
centaur characters from both the Harry
Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia series
as a base, it’s not hard to imagine a very diverse and engaging culture for
your Centaur characters to explore. They are essentially guided by a strong
connection to nature and the wild (Druids and Rangers) but also have a supreme
sense of honor and duty (Fighters, Clerics, possibly Paladins, but no Rogues).
They would be weakest or perhaps even abstaining from the use of arcane
(Wizards, Sorcerers, and Warlocks) and but could have an oral storytelling
and/or singing tradition (Bards). I can also see the Barbarian class working
out well with Centaurs, but I have a hard time seeing Monk.

2.Giant

I suppose
you could really choose any type of giant you wished, so long as it fit the
storyline. In my mind though, I see Hill or Mountain Giants. Immensely strong
and moderately intelligent, they would be excellent Barbarians, Fighters,
Druids, and Rangers. I can also see their greed and weak wills pushing them in
the direction of Warlock. I’m having trouble envisioning Cleric, Wizard,
Sorcerer, Bard, Rogue, and Paladin. However, and this may sound crazy, but can
you imagine a Hill Giant Monk? All I can say is, wow!

3.Gnoll

Ravenous,
territorial, temperamental, and with a healthy dose of bloodlust, a Gnoll PC
would make for a difficult companion unless the rest of the party were Gnolls
as well. And even then, it would make a terrible headache for the DM. However,
I can easily see Gnolls filling the rolls of Fighter, Ranger, Druid, Shaman
(Cleric), and Rogue. The other classes would be a stretch.

4.Goblin

I have had
the distinct honor of running an all-Goblin campaign in 2nd Edition
using house rules. The result was both interesting and horrifying. My PCs were
made up of two Fighters, a Shaman (Cleric), a Ranger, and a Rogue and let me
tell you that Goblins get scary when they start achieving 3rd or 4th
level. Sure, there was a lot of snarling, biting, stealing, in-fighting, and
name-calling, but hey I’ve seen that from an all Elven party too.

5.Lizardfolk

For some
reason I cannot explain, I have always equated Lizardfolk culture to Klingon
culture from the Star Trek universe. The only difference being their almost
fanatical devotion to magic instead of Honor. I suppose that a good argument
could be made that making Lizardfolk playable characters is irrelevant when you
have Dragonborn, but I see a few fundamental differences that could be fertile
ground for gameplay. Firstly, Dragonborn seem to be loners like their Dragon
ancestors and Lizardfolk congregate into huge clans. Secondly, Lizardfolk lean
more towards the evil side of neutral where Dragonborn are mostly good or at
least lawful. And thirdly, Lizardfolk practically worship magic and those who
can use it, whereas Dragonborn can make up their own minds. It would also be
interesting to make a few PCs the leaders (i.e. the spell casters) and make the
others their minions (Fighters, Rangers, Barbarians, and possibly Rogues)

6.Mind Flayer
(Illithid)

Oh what a
twisted and tangled web an all-Mind Flayer campaign would be! Each one of the
players would be desperately hungry to outshine the others and gain the favor
of the Elder Brain. As far as evil campaigns go this would be, in my opinion,
the pinnacle. However, I’m not even sure if a Mind-Flayer can possess any class
other than a Psionic. I know that they have a great deal of natural ability
which is enhanced by the Elder Brain, but are there Fighter Illithids? Are
there Rogue, Wizard, and Cleric Illithids? Interesting thoughts to explore…..

7.Minotaur

Once upon a time, using the old 2nd
Edition rules, I ran a very in-depth and memorable all- Minotaur
campaign. I thought it was excellent and would love the opportunity to run it a second time under 5th Edition rules. I know that they have been
quite popular as player characters in World of Warcraft, and I feel that many
of their traits from that game can be transferred over to D&D. Fighters,
Druids, Rangers, Clerics, Paladins, Monk, Barbarian, all seem quite natural.
The Arcane classes might be a bit more difficult but I’m sure that an inventive
player could come up with a great story explaining it. Unfortunately, the idea
of a Minotaur Rogue (believe it or not I have seen it tried) or a Minotaur Bard
just makes me laugh and I can’t take the idea seriously.

8.Pixie (or
Brownie)

Some of you
“manly-men” out there might feel like playing a Pixie or Brownie is too girlish
for your taste. Well please allow me to give you a few pop-culture examples of
how playing a tiny little person with (or without) wings might be fun: 1) The
brownies from Willow; 2) Reepicheep
from the The Chronicles of Narnia
series; 3) All of the characters from Pixar’s Toy Story and A Bug’s Life;
4) The Smurfs; and 5) All of the
characters from the Redwall series.
As you can see, there is a long tradition in fantasy of the main characters
being small and taking on the larger world. I think it would be fun to make
something as simple as a wolf or a coyote as intimidating and powerful to small
characters as a dragon is to normal characters. I can also see Pixies and
Brownies filling in every class role available. (But maybe the damage on a tiny
fireball might not be the same!)

9.Troll

From the
very beginning of D&D, Trolls have had it rough. They are ugly, smelly,
gangly, always hungry enough to eat almost anything, and hateful towards any
race but their own. I think to play one would be an excellent experiment to see
how accepting and accommodating other people can be. On the other hand, playing
Trolls might just be a good excuse to let your players run wild and be evil
monsters for a while before they get wiped out.

10.Yeti

Just like Minotaurs, I think Yetis
could be played with a great deal of depth. They would be a proud and valiant
race struggling to survive on the barren tundra and in perpetual winter
environments. I envision struggles against Frost Giants, Dire Wolves, Mammoths,
Undead (White Walkers anyone?), and many other winter foes. While they may not
be intelligent enough for the arcane classes, I really don’t have an issue with
any of the other options, although Rogue might be a stretch.

Do you have any other suggestions
to add to my list? Feel free to comment.

Most
people of my generation remember the character of Cain popularized by David
Carradine. Caine was a Shaolin Monk who forsook the monastic life to travel the
Western United States in search of his long lost half-brother. His soft-spoken
voice, sage wisdom, and impressive unarmed combat skills were very admirable.
The series was kicked off by a two hour movie-of-the-week in 1972 and ran for
63 episodes until 1975. It was later revived into a movie in 1986 and again as
a new series called Kung Fu: The Legend Continues in 1993 which ran for 88
episodes until 1997. Although I have no real proof to back this claim up, I
fully believe that this series was the inspiration for the Monk Class in the
original D&D release. That being said, have a peek at this series if you've ever wondered how a monk should be played.

#2 Yoda
(Star Wars Universe)

There is
a strong argument to be made that Jedi are more psionicists than monks.
However, especially in Yoda’s case, I lean more toward monk in my thinking and
here are my reasons why: he spends a great deal of time meditating; he is a
philosopher and well spoken; he has a strong (almost spiritual) connection to
the force; and he is well trained in combat. Combine all of this with his
adeptness to train others and empathize with their wants and needs, and monk
seems to be the best option for our little green Jedi Master. I also think it is
important to note that many of the principals observed by the Jedi and Jediism
have been derived from Buddhism and the teachings of Buddhist monks.

#1 Neo
(The Matrix Trilogy)

If you
can imagine for a moment that technology can have its own kind of spirituality
and that the inter-connectivity of our digital world will one day be just as
diverse as the natural world, then the idea of Neo being a kind of Techno Monk
makes a lot of sense. It’s not just that he knows Kung Fu or that he struggles
to preserve/improve mankind. It is his philosophical
quest for understanding and his desire to learn about life. It is his balanced
approach to listen to both sides of the argument, human and machine, and find
the common ground between them. It is his ability to cling to the one principal
that guides all living things: choice. That is what makes him a monk.

Monday, November 3, 2014

I’ve spent a lot of time over the past few months talking
about things I don’t like to see in D&D. (See Here) So this week, I thought
that I would talk about something I love to see in every campaign: Comedy. I
find that sometimes players can get too wrapped up in their character,
their back story, and in the adventure at hand. Thus, just like many serious
movies and television shows, it is important for DMs to work in a few moments
of comedy to break up the tension and let the players have a good laugh.
Sometimes this is provided by the PCs themselves without any help from the DM (and that’s a good thing) but other times the DM needs to step in and make
something a little silly, or unexpected, or down right hilarious happen. And,
after a few years of practice, I have found that the easiest way to do this is
to introduce a new NPC to the adventure.

While there is nothing wrong with having an NPC show up
for the sole purpose of making the players laugh for a while, the NPC doesn’t
have to be labelled “Comic Relief”. That is to say that they don’t have to be a
one-trick pony. They can have many uses and even switch back and forth from
silly to serious. However, once players get a sense that an NPC is comical,
they tend to expect that NPC to go on being comical all of the time. (Incidentally,
this is a great vehicle for a DM to implant a spy or traitor into the midst of
a group and gain their trust quickly.)

To illustrate what I mean, let me give you four examples
of NPCs I have used/witnessed in the past that have been used to good effect:

Squee

Originally, I introduced Squee the Pirate Goblin to one
of my campaigns because a couple of the players were acting like complete asses
and I needed to give them a kick in the pants. Thus the party hired a pirate
ship to sail them from city A to city B and Squee was the first mate. During
the course of the voyage, my mischievous players attempted to pull-off several
pranks which were not only foiled by Squee but usually ended up doing more harm
to the perpetrators than anyone else (think Wile E. Coyote). This resulted in an improvised assassination
attempt on Squee which failed hilariously. Afterwards, Squee and the other
pirates left the PCs marooned on an island.

As you can see, what began as just a comical foil
character quickly developed into a conduit to maroon the PCs on an island. As
the DM, I was planning on the PCs being left on the island from the beginning
but was originally going to have the ship sink in a storm and have the PCs
wash-up on shore. I believe that what actually happened was the better story
and we all had a lot of fun besides.

Taloon Sargon

From time to time a character named Taloon Sargon shows
up in my Forgotten Realms Campaigns. He usually presents himself as a simple Half-Elf Bard looking to tag along with the PCs for a short trip. However, in
my Faerun he is really a demi-god servant of Mystra and he loves getting the
PCs into no end of trouble. In fact, I have often described him to my players, usually after the fact, as my “Q” character from Star Trek: The Next Generation. He is funny, witty,
can be temperamental from time-to-time, and almost always wants to challenge
the PCs in some way that they don’t expect.

With his demi-god powers, Taloon often sets up riddles or
dungeons that the PCs must solve in order to learn something they need to know
for the campaign ahead. This makes him not only a comical and mischievous NPC, but one that the
players will look back after the fact and say, “he might have been a pain in
the ass but I’m glad he helped us out”.

The Gully
Wizard

Once upon a time in a Dragonlance campaign, our party
came upon a Gully Dwarf who could mysteriously cast many magic spells. In case
you don’t know, Gully Dwarfs are often lucky if they have the intelligence god
gave a rock and usually have no greater ambitions than picking their next meal
out of a garbage heap. But this one was different. This one could string together
mostly coherent sentences, he could cast spells that put our party wizard to
shame, and he even provided us with some much needed magical transportation. The only
drawbacks were the fact that he was naked except for a robe, smelled like week
old fish left out in the sun, and carried around a petrified lizard with which
he liked to hit people. It was only later that we figured out that the “Gully
Wizard” was in fact a normal Gully Dwarf who had just happened upon the dead
body of a powerful wizard and had collected his stuff which included several
wands, a Robe of Intelligence, and the legendary Staff of Magius!

In this case, I believe it was finding the legendary
staff which was the point of the whole encounter. Although, I have to admit
that the phrase “stiff lizard, bring you back from life!” has stuck in my head
for the seventeen years since I met him.

Tommy &
Turkish

(Note: these two NPCs make a lot more sense if you’ve
ever watched the movie Snatch written
and directed by Guy Ritchie) While traveling along a road, our party
encountered two Gnomes driving a wagon. They introduced themselves as Tommy and
Turkish and told us that they were traveling merchants. When one of us asked
what goods they dealt in they told us, “garden humans”, and then proceeded to
pitch to us all of the many fine uses one could have for miniature painted concrete
humans with silly hats. It was enough to send all of us players into fits of
laughter.

Thankfully, they also decided to hire our party on as
wagon guard (only the best for the garden humans) and we had a lot of fun
trading jokes on the way to the next town. I also want to mention that several
of us did end up purchasing garden humans from the gnomish pair and would later find
them very useful as dungeon tools and improvised weapons.

In conclusion, I want to stress that good DMs know when
to use comedy and when to get serious. Good DMs also know how to get the
most mileage out of even their silliest NPCs such as using them as vehicles to
get to new parts of the story/adventure.